Settling for lesser-known brands like UMIDIGI, LeEco, Ulefone, or Voyo is a guaranteed method to save on hundreds of dollars. The store-wide sale also includes Huawei and Lenovo tablets for those who still prefer brand new devices for peace of mind.

Online Chinese retailer CooliCool is holding a two-week sale from October 10th to October 22nd to celebrate its 11th anniversary this month. The retailer specializes in exporting Asian smartphones, tablets, and laptops worldwide and many of our smartphones have been sourced from CooliCool as well.

Notable sale items include the 6.2-inch UMIDIGI UMI Z2 with an octa-core Helio P23 SoC and 6 GB of RAM for $260 USD and the 5.8-inch Nokia X6 with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 SoC and 4 GB of RAM for $220 USD. Many of these smartphones are equipped with mainstream hardware sprinkled with high-end features for budget-friendly prices.

As with all smartphone imports, however, it's important to do research on the supported radio bands of each device to make sure they can function in your region. Some Asian smartphones lack the necessary bands for LTE support in North America and Europe and could be limited to 3G at best.

After graduating with a B.S. in environmental hydrodynamics from the University of California, I studied reactor physics to become licensed by the U.S. NRC to operate nuclear reactors. There's a striking level of appreciation you gain for everyday consumer electronics after working with modern nuclear reactivity systems astonishingly powered by computers from the 80s. When I'm not managing day-to-day activities and US review articles on Notebookcheck, you can catch me following the eSports scene and the latest gaming news.